Project Title:
Improving Education using Raspberry Pi and the Internet of Things

Project Description:
This project will improve the education system within remote villages of Kenya, using cloud services and Raspberry Pi boards configured in an internet of things network to transfer data to and from remote schools.

A team in the UK will use online education resources such as Khan Academy, CrashCourse and MIT OpenCourseWare, and will upload this content to the cloud through services like Microsoft Azure. This educational data will automatically download at a local centre in a city with internet access close to the village. This data will then be transferred onto a USB stick, which will be delivered to the villages using local public transport. Each village will be equipped with nodes consisting of a Raspberry Pi with a touchscreen and battery pack, packaged in a 3D Printed rugged case. The system can be charged from the grid or from solar panels.

The project will initially deploy a hub in Nairobi and 3 nodes across villages in Kenya, with the purpose to massively increase educational opportunities for the children living in these areas.

Project Description:This project will support two of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Hunger Zero and Economic Growth, with a device that will provide knowledge to Andean Farmers on how to produce food in a sustainable way.

A network of intelligent sensors, which can measure and inform farmers in real time of temporary or permanent issues facing them due to climate change, will be deployed. The Andean farmers can enter information about their lands, and the device will provide helpful information about overcoming climate change and the most effective way to handle their crops.

An embedded system with wireless communication will be developed, enabling the deployment of a small network of sensors, monitoring two hectares of a farmer’s land. To ensure sustainability, this tool is also energy efficient and rugged so that is will survive a range of weather conditions.

Project Description:Bees are essential to pollinate many plants. This project will create a Precision Apiculture System and Service that will assist sustainable beekeeping. The service integrates a beekeeping management module and a beehive monitoring module. A network of sensors will gather data and a decision support module provides advice and warnings to the beekeeper, based upon internal and external environmental conditions.

The project will deliver an integrated toolbox which can be used during all beekeeping activities to help beekeepers manage production, monitor colonies and deliver advice that will improve quantity and quality of apiculture products, as well as reducing the time and cost involved in keeping bees.

Devices and applications can be developed in the future, using new technologies to enhance this system. The goal of the project is to make beekeeping more efficient, and help reverse the bee population decline.

Project Description:A multiprocessor system using a combination of signals from different sources that helps blind and visually impaired people to navigate in their daily lives.

Sensors including video cameras, ultrasonic rangefinders, laser rangefinder, directional microphones, 3D position sensors, and GPS data will be deployed in the system. The device can be controlled using a keyboard, joystick, voice commands and gestures. Features include the ability to locate potential obstacles as well as provide directions using GPS or inertial navigation. Feedback from the device will include voice information, sounds, vibration and display braille.

Sensors will be deployed in shoes, belt buckles and spectacle frames, and the system will be designed to work online or offline as well as with or without GPS.

Project Description:In remote villages in rural India there is a lack of medical facilities This project will use the Internet of Things will be used to build a low-cost portable diagnostic centre that could be deployed in every village, allowing better diagnosis of conditions and improving the healthcare available.

Sensors interfaced to a Raspberry Pi will be used to help with the diagnosis of patients. Signals from sensors such as ECG and heat beat sensors will be displayed and analysed using digital oscilloscope software. This information will assist doctors and medical staff to conduct basic tests on patients in rural areas, identifying who should be sent for a second opinion to a hospital in a nearby town or city.

An open source image processing tool will also be in use process image data, enabling the diagnosis of a range of diseases.

Project Description:This 3D printed incubator addresses the lack of medical technologies for children in the first moments of their life in the less developed parts of the world. This incubator will support newborn children who are critically ill, reducing infant mortality.

The incubator, named BOB, is a low-cost, open source, 3D printable incubator. The electronics are based on a Raspberry Pi board, which allows the incubator to maintain a consistent temperature and humidity, as well as providing an alarm system which notifies staff of any anomalies.

All electronic components for this project were chosen based on their long-term reliability, price and availability to ensure it is a low-cost and sustainable project.

Project Description:This project aims to combat smog using an intelligent electronic filter. This filter is self-cleaning and self-regulated making it an easy and simple device to use.

The filter will catch the dust type PM10 PM2.5 using the chimney effect, and will be powered by a turbine which will operate as a generator, producing the electrical energy needed to power the system. This component will be entirely self-sufficient, with the ability to detect a ‘clogged’ filter, and routinely change to a ‘new’ filter. The collected dust will automatically be stacked in special tanks which will be emptied every few months.

With a low manufacturing cost, a low cost of ownership, and the ability to position the filter anywhere, this project will make a valuable contribution to reducing smog.

This project will improve the efficiency of electricity use by off grid communities in a sustainable and affordable way. A peer-to-peer mesh microgrid will be created, allowing communities who are not supported by outside power companies to have access to electricity.

Each household will be connected to a node that allows them to exchange power in any direction. These nodes will be able to produce or use power, and can be connected to several different power sources, including solar, wind and hydro. Within these communities some nodes will focus on selling power, while others would only be consumers.

The affordability of these nodes allows them to run without any government support. The system will also be very reliable as if one node fails the grid can successfully continue to operate, presenting a new, sustainable way to create and manage electricity for off gird communities.

Project Description:
This project will adapt smart meters, making them into a tool that will recognize when a vulnerable or elderly person is ill or injured, contacting family and friends to summon help.

Smart meters currently collect data about the gas, electricity and water used in the household. A Raspberry Pi will be used as the in-home display screen, communicating with the smart meter using ZigBee wireless. In addition to displaying detailed energy usage, the system will also develop a consumption profile reflecting the daily and weekly activities of a person living in a particular home.

If the daily activities and consumption of these resources decline or alter in any way, then the intelligent software will analyze the situation and decide on the best course of action. This will vary from triggering the alarm system to sending a warning message to family and friends, ensuring if something happened to a vulnerable individual, help would be on the way.

Project Description:This project aims to transform a traditional stethoscope, which requires a trained medical practitioner, into a digital stethoscope which can be used at home.

An array of digital audio sensors will be used to process and pick out sounds which are important to monitoring the health of a patient, such as breathing and the heart. Patients can keep the stethoscope at home, monitoring their heart rate and breathing. The device can also send data to a doctor using a mobile phone, enabling an expert consultation without the need for a hospital visit.